Tony Bennett: 1926 - 2023
We lost Tony Bennett yesterday.
They don't make them like Tony anymore, sadly. What a class guy.
We were lucky to catch Tony Bennett a few times, like at Bridge School Benefit Concert in 2011. We even had the honor of briefly crossing paths with Tony as he was leaving the concert where he acknowledged our thanks with a little smile and wave.
Back in 2010, MusiCares Honored Neil Young
with a tribute which included many -- not the least of which was Tony Bennett, who Neil Young cited as an inspiration that night. To say it was an amazing night, would be a vast understatement.
Tony Bennett and Paul McCartney
"The Very Thought of You."
Bridge School Benefit Concert - October 23, 2004
Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA
Photo by Kim Komenich of San Francisco Chronicle
Here's Tony Bennett & Paul McCartney at the Bridge School Benefit Concert 2004.
More on Tony Bennett & Neil Young: MusiCares Person Of The Year - 2010.
Labels: neil young, tony bennett
by thrasher@PermaLink: 7/22/2023 10:20:00 AM
7 comments
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My first trip down to the USA for a show since COVID, and it was quite a surreal night.
This tour is such a strange fit for the venues he's been choosing. This is an almost elegiac show - Neil's was preoccupied with reminiscing about lost friends and thanking the crowd throughout, and yet the crowd itself was, as others have noted, very rowdy. Lots of folks shouting requests, talking during the obscure tracks... and yet, it almost became a part of the experience. It took me back to the Tonight's The Night bootlegs: an artist challenging their audience to have 'fun', if they dare. The specific performance of Mr. Soul, which he introduced as "We're going to do a hootenanny!" (Crowd cheers) "... but not yet", and proceeded to play a dark dirge-like version on the pump organ, was particularly indicative of his general tack for the night.
The show is fastidiously-staged, but so many of Neil's decisions seem calibrated not to cover over his frailty as he ages but to highlight it. He could very easily pick a series of fairly simple lay-ups, sit down, and perform them pretty darn solidly, but he doesn't: A Dream That Can Last was a bit of a mess, and he stalked around the stage while playing his usual harmonica-guitar setup and switched instruments mid-song at one point. And then he'd pull out 'Birds' (my favourite performance of the night) execute it flawlessly.
Between his usual trollish (a word I use lovingly) audience-challenging and the way that his advancing age was so apparent in his performance (it really feels like ten years have passed since the 2019 show I saw, not five), it was a hugely emotional night for me and one of the more unique performances I've ever seen any artist give. I'm glad I saw it.
(I should also add - Burned was definitely performed. One flub, but a good rendition on the whole. I'm The Ocean, which I was looking forward to, really suffered from the audience being terribly unsettled and a bit obnoxious, at least around me. Homegrown was what appeared to be a true encore - the house lights actually came on at the end of Four Strong winds, and then quickly came down. Huge audience rush back to the venue. Very special moment.)